Modern mithai and slimline snacks – a Brindian spin on Diwali delicacies

Like all the cultural festivals the British embrace, Diwali provides an opportunity – indeed, an excuse, to fervently indulge in all things delicious with little thought for consequence. Eating the sweets and savouries that have been offered to the gods seems quite heavenly, but these devilish delicacies are sinfully sweet, rich, and fatty… In short, all those things which feel so right and yet do you so wrong.

And the British appetite for subcontinental sweets and snacks is growing. In the uber-trendy London neighbourhood of Shoreditch, hip hangout Dishoom has incited an appetite for the chatpata crunch of rainbow-hued, deep-fried far far and the myriad mithai it distributes on high days and holidays. Both are gobbled up with as much gusto as pork scratchings and Cadburys’s chocolate.

This equal affection for British and Indian indulgences has lead to some fantastic fusions – some with a healthy spin. They’re still undeniably treats rather than everyday eats, but not necessarily ones that you need to resist relishing quite so much. Which is handy, because these temptations are just too good to turn down.

On Twitter, influential Indian superchef Sanjeev Kapoor has been harnessing the hashtag in a concerted effort to promote #HealthyRecipes for festive fare – emphasising healthful cooking techniques, nutritious ingredients, and telling his top tips – and it seems his message has spread as far as our tiny isle just in time for Diwali.

Up-and-coming culinary talent and finalist on TV’s ‘Food Glorious, Anjula Devi, has sold her trademark ‘baked-not-fried’ Bombay mix for quite some time. This autumn sees her launch a range of impossible-sounding low-sugar, reduced fat mithai; what’s more, she swears you’d never know the difference. If it’s true, her clever collection could make all the difference when it comes to health.

Growing up in Britain with a diabetic Dad, food writer Deena Kakaya was raised with a healthy approach that’s followed her into adulthood; limiting fried snacks and eschewing nuts for mithai on festive occasions. On her blog, Deena shares tips on how to indulge in the healthiest manner – for example, exploring the nutritious qualities of jaggery over less-virtuous, less-tasty white sugar.

Talking sugary, when it comes to chocolate, Britain and India share a savour for sweet, milky stuff. Both go mad for those melt-on-the-tongue treats, choosing Cadburys over high-cocoa any day. But in Britain, dynamic young chocolatier Aneesh Popat is determined to challenge palates; educating folks to appreciate the complexity of good chocolate whilst simultaneously whittling their waistlines.

How on earth can the chap claim to help health whilst trading in truffles? Well, these are no ordinary truffles; each bonbon containing just half the calories of a regular treat. Aneesh didn’t set out to put chocoholics on a diet – rather, he wanted to make the nuanced flavours of his spiced, Indian-inspired ganaches shine their brightest, and did so by ditching the dairy.

Without cream and butter, these were better, and not just in terms of taste. Unlike most ‘good for you’ goodies, these slimmed-down sweets are actually superior to the originals. Aneesh has perfected his technique so that his water ganaches melt into a proper puddle in the mouth. From banana and clove to coffee and cardamom, there’s a truffle to make every eater weak at the knees.

But make no mistake, this is no fusion confusion. Each flavour makes perfect sense. So much so that Aneesh has created bespoke items for Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon Club (the Thandai truffle) and quintessentially English perfumier Penhaligon, with a specimen that effectively evokes ‘the monsoon-soaked soils of Rajasthan’, and expertly echoes the aromas of the company’s Vaara scent.

Just as keen on scented sweets is Rekha Mehr of Anglo-Indian patisserie Pistachio Rose, whose offerings include Bollywood blondies which blend burfi with cake, signature pistachio-rose madelines, and mukwas-studded shortbread. She’s not alone in her approach – Ali Imdad, a recent contestant in the UK’s beloved ‘Great British Bake Off’, also brings a subcontinental slant to the tea-time table.

Pistachio Rose’s treats are just that; but each and every item is every bit as high in terms of quality as in fat and calories. Rekha’s flavour combinations have certainly curried favour amongst the country’s most discerning palates, so much so that they’re stocked by the staunchest of British food emporiums, Fortnum and Mason.

Also sitting pretty on the shelves are tins of Duke of Delhi’s gourmet chevdo. Young entrepreneur Asif Walli’s mixtures are so light you might kid yourself they’re low-fat; lucky, then, that the sleek silver drums are so diminutive. Along with the usual sev, dryfruits and cornflake crispies, additions include honeycomb, luxury nuts and dark chocolate chunks.

And with the brand-new chocolate bars, Duke of Delhi has flipped the formula on its head, coming up with a creation that has fans flipping out. Sweet milk chocolate is studded with the signature munchy mix; the dark version is also infused with citrus. It’s a brand new khatta-meetha collision that makes the mouth water and the brain boggle – as do the Duke’s nankhatai-inspired biscuits.

For modern Brindians, Diwali gifting means deciding between chocolate and chikki; biscuits or burfi. To do away with the dilemma, brother-and-sister duo Devnaa simply choose to fuse. Their brightly-coloured boxes contain jewel-like assortments of the sort of chocolates you’d see in a Belgian boutique – but these shells conceal revealing centres; soft strawberry barfi, or chai masala caramel.

For cooks who prefer the DIY approach to mithai, husband-and-wife team Jay and Sonali Morjaria have the solution. Not only are the pair putting on the UK’s first pop-up Diwali shop with their Central London cookery school, Sutra Kitchen, they’re also hosting a ‘Modern Mithai’ class, demonstrating how to make Kit Kat burfi, coconut Bounty truffles, and vanilla and rose penda.

So this Diwali, the British have plenty to celebrate, and plenty of ways to do so – from miracle mithai to some spectacular savouries. And, as many of these conscientious artisans have their hearts set on selling us healthier treats, perhaps our waistlines won’t expand quite as rapidly as our burgeoning Brindian talent pool.

Author

I’m a London-based freelance food writer specialising in Indian cuisine. I have no connection to the country beyond my love for its cuisine, which is a constant cause for puzzlement. ‘Why Indian?’, I’m asked. The simple fact is, I couldn’t tell you.
What I can tell you, with zealous conviction, is that Indian cuisine is the only one with that rare ability to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. As I put it, ‘the food supplies the tie the umbellical cord did not’.
In my extensive edible explorations, I’ve discovered food from all over the subcontinent right here on my English doorstep. The ability of food to transport has taken me from Bangladesh to Bombay by way of Bengal – all the while meeting folks who’ve shared their cooking, food and legacies with me.

I’m a London-based freelance food writer specialising in Indian cuisine. I have no connection to the country beyond my love for its cuisine, which is a co. . .